Crosstable for positioning articles

ABSTRACT

A crosstable for positioning articles, comprising a frame and a table which is movable relative thereto. An adjusting lever is connected by a diaphragm to the frame and to the table. The table is connected by a first pair of leaf springs, to an intermediate member which in turn is connected, by a second pair of leaf springs to the frame. The direction of support of the first pair of leaf springs being transverse to that of the second pair.

llnited States Patent [191 Foederer et al.

[ Jan. 8, 1974 CROSSTABLE FOR POSITIONING ARTICLES Inventors: AntoniusFranciscus lFoederer;

Andrianus .lacobus Jozef Franken; Jacobus Andrianus Johannes Maria VanNoord, all of Emmasingel, Eindhoven, Netherlands Assign'ee: U.S. PhilipsCorporation, New

' York, NY.

Filed: June 5, 1972 .Appl. No.: 259,912

Foreign Application Priority Data June 16, l97l Netherlands 7108235 U.S.C1 74/470, 74/479, 74/491 Int. Cl G05g 11/00 Field of- Search 74/491,471 XY, 470,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,504,566 4/1970 Zurcher74/469 3,628,394 l2/l97l Keatinge 74/471 Y X Primary Examiner-Allan D.Herrmann Attorney-Frank R. Trifari et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A crosstable for positioning articles, comprising a frameand a table which is movable relative thereto. An adjusting lever-isconnected by a diaphragm to the frame and to the table. The table isconnected by a first pair of leaf springs, to an intermediate memberwhich in turn isconnected, by a second pair of leaf springs to theframe. The direction of support of the first pair of leaf springs beingtransverse to that of the second pair.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures swm CROSSTAIBLE FOR POSITIONING ARTICLES Theinvention relates to a crosstable for the very accurate positioning ofarticles which comprises a frame and a table movable relative thereto,and having an adjusting lever which is connected to the frame and thetable.

Crosstables of the above-described type are known and serve tomanipulate articles into a desirable position. It is often required thata movement over a distance of a few millimetres can be carried out withan accuracy smaller than I micrometre. It is furthermore required thatthe permissible load-change is a few kilograms in which the stability ofthe assembly must satisfy high requirements.

In the known crosstables, the table is often movable over guides in theframe, the lever with which the table can be moved being journalled bothin the frame and in the table. The play in the bearing and guide, thedeformation of component parts and the so-called stickslip effect on thefrictional surfaces often cause the accurate adjustment to be difficult.

Furthermore, the desirable stability requirements in the knowncrosstables can only satisfied by using very heavy and bulkyconstructionsL It is the object of the invention to provide a crosstableof a simple construction having a permissible weight load of a fewkilograms and good stability. 7 Inorder to achieve the end in view, thecross-table according to the invention is characterized in that each ofthe said connections between the lever and the table and the lever andthe frame, respectively, is by a diaphragm the lever being secured inthe center thereof, and whose outer circumference is secured to thetable and the frame respectively. The table is connected, through afirst pair of parallel leaf springs, to an intermediate member which inturn is connected, through a second pair of parallel leaf springs, tothe frame, the direction of springing of the first pair of leaf springsenclosing a right angle with that of the second pair of leaf springs.

In a further favourable embodiment, one or more columns are secured tothetable by a diaphragm. The columns are admissible on at least one sidefrom outside the frame and are supported, by a grease lubrication, inthe direction of the load against a surface of the frame.

By using diaphragms and leaf springs'as connection members, a crosstableis obtained which very readily satisfiesthe requirements imposed uponstability, admissible load, and accuracy.

In a further favourable embodiment of the crosstable according to theinvention, the end of the lever remote from the diaphragms bears in arecess of a ball in such manner that the point of contact of lever andball lies slightly out of the centre of the ball, and in which a furtherlever, of the fine adjustment, is connected to the ball and the ball isincorporated in a cup which forms part of an adjusting knob of thecoarseadjustment, said knob having a ring with a pherical surface whichis pressed against a spherical cup connected to the frame by a spring.

In this manner, a very accurate adjusting possibility is obtained byusing a double adjusting lever mechanism, in which in each position ofthe first lever the full range of the fine adjustment can be used.

The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to thedrawing in which FIGS, 1 and 2 show diagrammatically a crosstable in twomutually perpendicular cross-sectional views.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a frame consisting of a base plate 2 and asuperstructure 3. At the area 7, an adjusting lever 41 is clamped in thecentre of a diaphragm 5 whichis secured to the base plate 2 at its edgeby means ofa clamping member 6. At the area 8, the lever 41 is clampedin the centre of a second diaphragm 9 which is connected with its edgeto a movable table 11 by means of a clamping member 10.

The table 11 is connected to an intermediate member 14 by means of'afirst pair of parallel leaf springs l2, 13. The intermediate member 14in turn is connected to the base plate 2 by means of a second pair ofparallel leaf springs 15, 16. In this manner the table obtains apossibility of movement which is free from play in two mutuallyperpendicular directions relative to the frame.

The upper end of the lever 4 is coupled to a knob 19 for the coarseadjustment via a ball 18, a structural part 20 is connected to the knob19 and has a spherical ring 21 turned on it. Said ring co-operates witha spherical cup 22 secured to the frame. The contact between the ring 21and the spherical cup 22 is maintained by a leaf spring 23 which presseson the lower side of the lever 4. This frictional contact also ensuresthe blocking of the coarse adjustment. By a small manual pressure, thefriction between the ring 21 and the cup 22 is removed. The extent ofpressure can be adjusted by the said leaf spring 23.

The fine adjustment is obtained by a lever 24 which is secured to thesaid ball 18. The supporting point of the lever 4 in the ball 18 lies ata small distance from the center of the ball 18 so that a small movementof the lever 4 is obtained by moving the lever 24, which ultimatelyresults in a movement of the table 11. The table 11 which is entirelywithin the superstructure 3 comprises a further diaphragm 25 which isconnected to the table 11 at its edge by a clamping member 26.

In the center of the diaphragm 25 a hollow column 29 is secured by meansof a plate 27. The column 29 is accessible from both the lower side andfrom the upper side of the super structure 3. Together with a fur- 'therplate 30, the plate 27 forms an annular recess in which a grease plate31 is provided.

The column 29 which is accessible from without will perform the samemovements as the table 11. The the device to be manipulated can beplaced on the column 29. By using the said grease plate 31, which is aflat, grease-lubricated plate, the weight load can be a few kilogramswhile the grease lubrication also ensures the damping of the manualmovement.

The articles to be manipulated can be provided both on the upper'andlower side of the column 29. Since the column is hollow, the inner sidecan be used for the passage of light, electric connections and coolingwater ducts, and so on.

It will be obvious that other column constructions may be used, ifdesirable.

The operation of the device should be apparent to a large extent fromthe above explanation. By manipulation with knob 19, a large adjustmentof the lever 4 is obtained, which results in a comparatively coarsemovement of the table l L-The fine adjustment is obtained bymanipulation with lever 24.

In a practical construction, the movement with the coarse adjustment is3 mm, the ratio of displacement (knob 19, table 11) being 1 1.0. Thedisplacement with the fine adjustment is 0.5 mm with a movement ratio(lever 24, table 11) of l 200. The adjusting accuracy is better than 0.5micrometer. The weight load may be approximately kg. Measured with 5 kgload, the dis placement is approximately 2 micrometers with a transverseforce of 1 kg on the table, while after removing the transverse force,the table recoils approximately 1 micrometers. Since the tablesuspension is constructed with leaf springs and the lever bearing isconstructed with diaphragms, plays and the stick-slip effect are notexperienced. In this manner, an extremely accurate positioninginstrument is obtained which can be used, for example, in opticalmeasuring set ups, preparation p0- sitioning under a microscope, in themanufacture of integrated circuits in placing and welding the crystal onthe substrate.

What is claimed is:

l. A crosstable for accurately positioning articles comprising a frame,a table movably mounted on said frame, an adjusting lever for causingmovement of said table connected at a first point of connection thereonto said frame and at a second point of connection thereon to said table,a first diaphragm for connecting said lever to said frame, and a seconddiaphragm for connecting said lever to said table, the circumference ofsaid first diaphragm being secured to said frame, the circumference ofsaid second diaphragm being secured to said table, said lever beingconnected to said first diaphragm at the center thereof at said firstpoint of connection, and to said second diaphragm at the center thereofat said second point of connection, an intermediate member connectedbetween said table and said frame, a first pair of parallel leaf springsconnecting said table to said intermediate member, and a second pair ofparallel leaf springs connecting said intermediate member to said frame,the direction of support of said first pair of leaf springs beingtransverse to that of said second pair of leaf springs.

2. The crosstable according to claim 1 further comprising at least onecolumn connected to said table by a diaphragm, at least one end of saidcolumn being accessible from outside said frame, and grease lubricationsupporting said column in the direction of load against a surface ofsaid frame.

3. The crosstable according to claim 1 further comprising a ball havinga recess for receiving the end of said lever remote from said first andsecond diaphragms, said ball being carried in a cup forming parts of anadjusting knob for coarse adjustment, said knob having a ring with aspherical surface which is pressed against a spherical cup connected tothe frame by a spring, and a fine adjustment lever connected to theball.

4. The crosstable according to claim 3 wherein the point of contactbetween said lever and the recess of the ball lies slightly out ofcenter of the ball.

1. A crosstable for accurately positioning articles comprising a frame,a table movably mounted on said frame, an adjusting lever for causingmovement of said table connected at a first point of connection thereonto said frame and at a second point of connection thereon to said table,a first diaphragm for connecting said lever to said frame, and a seconddiaphragm for connecting said lever to said table, the circumference ofsaid first diaphragm being secured to said frame, the circumference ofsaid second diaphragm being secured to said table, said lever beingconnected to said first diaphragm at the center thereof at said firstpoint of connection, and to said second diaphragm at the center thereofat said second point of connection, an intermediate member connectedbetween said table and said frame, a first pair of parallel leaf springsconnecting said table to said intermediate member, and a second pair ofparallel leaf springs connecting said intermediate member to said frame,the direction of support of said first pair of leaf springs beingtransverse to that of said second pair of leaf springs.
 2. Thecrosstable according to claim 1 further comprising at least one columnconnected to said table by a diaphragm, at least one end of said columnbeing accessible from outside said frame, and grease lubricationsupporting said column in the direction of load against a surface ofsaid frame.
 3. The crosstable according to claim 1 further comprising aball having a recess for receiving the end of said lever remote fromsaid first and second diaphragms, said ball being carried in a cupforming parts of an adjusting knob for coarse adjustment, said knobhaving a ring with a spherical surface which is pressed against aspherical cup connected to the frame by a spring, and a fine adjustmentlever connected to the ball.
 4. The crosstable according to claim 3wherein the point of contact between said lever and the recess of theball lies slightly out of center of the ball.